Tim Leonard

New tenants are benefitting as rents continue to be pushed even lower across the residential lettings sector, it has been revealed.

With would-be-sellers unable to find buyers for their properties, the supply of homes to the rental market continues to grow, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said.

In the final three months of last year, the number of surveyors that reported a rise in rents compared with a fall dropped to the lowest level ever recorded.

The number predicting a further fall in rents was also at unprecedented levels.

"The marketplace has become more and more competitive as reluctant landlords continue to look to let properties they are unable to sell," said RICS spokesperson Jeremy Leaf. "With property sales at historical lows, the rental market will continue to boom - provided unemployment levels do not increase significantly."

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